Bridget Archer (Bass, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

[by video link] Once again, I rise to speak on this issue for the third time in less than a year and my second time in less than three months. It's incredibly important to me personally that a bill be introduced as soon as possible, and I've sought assurances from the government that this legislation will come before parliament before the year is out. I thank Minister Cash for her continuing engagement with me on this critical bill. Again, I would like to thank both the member for Indi and the member for Clark for their considered work on this matter and for our ongoing constructive discussions on legislation that truly should and indeed must cross the political divide. I also certainly hope that the views I've expressed previously on this issue have made it clear that I want to see a robust integrity commission that will assist in restoring public confidence. The trust of our constituency is paramount. In the biggest health crisis that our country has faced, we have asked much of our communities across the country in order to keep everyone around us safe. Thankfully, with very few exceptions, those constituents have respected and complied with measures that we couldn't have imagined would be a reality less than two years ago. We cannot and must not take this trust for granted.

In recent years, the trust of our country in their elected officials has eroded. Although as a country we are ranked as one of the least-corrupt countries in the world, ranking equal 11th place with Canada, the UK and Austria, there are some worrying signs. A report from the Scanlon Foundation at the end of 2020 found that there was a temporary upswing in faith in the federal government last year due to handling of the pandemic. Transparency International Australia reported that Australians' faith in democracy has plummeted from 86 per cent in 2007 to 41 per cent in 2018. Alarmingly, 20 years ago, around 70 per cent of Australians felt that their vote made a difference, yet now only 58 per cent do. If this trend continues, by 2025 we would see fewer than 10 per cent of Australians trusting their politicians and political institutions. We shouldn't deem this satisfactory. It is clear that strong democratic reform is needed.

As I've also previously stated, the establishment of a solid integrity commission is one that requires a bipartisan approach. Anything less is, in my view, counterintuitive to enhancing trust and confidence. My fear is that the path to establishing a commission will become politicised. Let's be clear that, just like other issues of late, including discussions around women's safety, there is not one side of politics that has the moral high ground on this. The more political it becomes, the greater the risk of inertia, and we fall further away from creating what needs to be a robust institution that will be essential to ensuring the integrity of our public sector, our government and our elected officials.

I sincerely hope that there is a willingness by all sides to truly put the politics aside and work together in the interests of all Australians. We must get this right. It is critical not only due to the scale of the reform needed but so that Australians can have confidence that the commission will operate effectively.

I fully support the government undertaking extensive consultation on the draft legislation, which included civil society academics and key experts across the government and non-government sectors. I too have consulted widely on this matter to ensure that we get this right. I understand that the feedback is still being considered in order to inform further refinement of the draft legislation. However, there are just four sitting weeks left for 2021. Once passed, the commission would commence operations approximately six months later. So we must end the year with upholding a promise made to the Australian people and present a draft bill that meets the expectations of those who put their trust in us. If this continues to be politicised we will end up in a dire situation where no model will be acceptable, and this is, frankly, unthinkable.

As with so many other issues that arise in parliament, I believe that there really is more that unites us than divides us. I urge everyone in our parliament to think about the role that they can and should play to ensure that the final legislation is what is best for reinforcing our democracy for years to come, instead of what may be best for individual, short-term political gain.

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